Amnesty Urges Burma to End Repression of Minorities

The Chin people are one of several ethnic groups to have fled persecution

The military government in Burma has been urged to end the repression of ethnic minorities ahead of elections.

A report by Amnesty International says Burma's ethnic minority groups - up to 40% of the population - are important in the country's political opposition.

But, the rights group says, activists face surveillance, harassment and discrimination when trying to carry out legitimate political activities.

The Burmese junta has previously denied repressing ethnic groups.

It says it will hold elections at some point this year but no date has yet been set.

Risk of death

Amnesty International said members of the many minority groups risked arrest, imprisonment, torture and even death when attempting to participate in political life, as the junta sought to crush dissent.

Any resolution of the country's deeply troubling human rights record has to take into account the rights and aspirations of the country's large population of ethnic minorities

Benjamin Zawacki
Amnesty International

It urged the Asian regional organisation the Association of South East Asian Nations, or Asean, and China to help ensure that Burma's people can participate openly in the political process.

A United Nations envoy for human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is currently visiting Rakhine state in the north-west of the country, home to the ethnic Rohingya people.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya, who are mostly Muslim, have fled the country - many to neighbouring Bangladesh - claiming abuse and oppression.

Amnesty International's latest report outlines the repression of activists including Rakhine monks, who the group said led a 2007 uprising that was bloodily suppressed with the loss of at least 31 lives.

"Any resolution of the country's deeply troubling human rights record has to take into account the rights and aspirations of the country's large population of ethnic minorities," the London-based group's Burma expert Benjamin Zawacki said.

Some members of Burma's many ethnic groups are waging decades-long armed uprisings along the country's eastern border, claiming neglect and mistreatment.

Others have become political activists in opposition to the junta's rule.

"The government has responded to this activism in a heavy-handed manner, raising fears that repression will intensify before the elections," Mr Zawacki said.

Amnesty said it had conducted interviews for its report with 700 activists from the seven largest minorities, including the Rakhine, Shan, Kachin and Chin, over a two-year period from August 2007.